WARREN, Mich. – Just 14 days after the now-viral moment of an officer assaulting a 19-year-old carjacking suspect, a lawsuit was officially filed against the City of Warren, the officer that assaulted him, and other officers involved on behalf of Jaquan Smith and Fieger Law.
“The officer said hurry up and take the picture, you little (expletive),” said Attorney James Harrington with Fieger Law. “And he (Smith) said, ‘I ain’t no (expletive).’ He’s about double the size of him. Mr. Smith is not a large person.”
The 30-page complaint is now seeking $50 million in damages. Smith’s aunt, Tonisha Banks, was happy he was still here.
“The first thing that ran across my mind was, did he survive what I just witnessed him go through,” said Banks.
Warren police Commissioner Bill Dwyer commented on how quickly the suit was filed.
“Immediately, they file a $50 million lawsuit,” said Dwyer. “I mean, why do they have to rush to doing that.”
Harrington, however, says he wishes it could have been filed quicker.
“I wish I could’ve filed this lawsuit within minutes of this happening,” Harrington said. “I wish I could have filed sooner. But we did it as fast as we probably could.”
The big question was whether or not Smith received any injuries because of the assault.
“He was treated at the hospital for his injuries and was cleared of no injuries,” Dwyer said.
“He is still, as of this day, having issues with head injuries,” Harrington said. “He’s having headaches, dizziness, nausea, consistent with traumatic brain injury.”
Another question was whether the other two officers involved actually intervened.
“They were actors,” Harrington said. “They were part of this brutality, and they will be held responsible as well.”
“They didn’t see what the officer had done at the beginning,” Dwyer said. “They came in when he was down on the ground, and they don’t know so, but when the officer started banging his head, that’s when they said they reported immediately to their supervisor.”
Either way, the now-fired officer involved has been charged with misdemeanor assault. It turns out he has a history of alleged excessive force.
“There was a lawsuit against him, and it stemmed from one occurrence with two different plaintiffs,” Harrington said. “One was settled. One was dismissed on qualified immunity.”
Smith is still behind bars. Of course, Local 4 will monitor the lawsuit going forward.